Printing device for scales



Nov. 17, 1942. A. HAHN 2,301,946

PRINTING DEVICE FOR SCALES Nov. 17, 1942. A. HAHN PRINTING DEVICE Fon SCALES Filed Dec. 8, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 17, 1942. A. HAHN 2,301,946

PRINTING DEVICE FOR SCALES Filed Dec. 8, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 17, 1942. A, HAHN 2,301,946

PRINTING DEVICE FOR SCALES Filed Dec. 8, 1,959. 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fjg 7 Fig.

Patented Nov. 17, 1942 l2,301,946 PRINTING DEVICE FR SCALES Arthur Hahn, Balingen, Germany; vested in the Allen Property Custodian Application December 8, 1939, Serial No. 308,277

, In Germany March 1, 1937 8 Claims.

This application is a continuation-impart of applicants co-pending application Serial No. 179,565, filed December 13, 1937.

The present invention relates'to a device which is used and built into a weighing scale and of which the object is to render it possible to weigh objects and materials which are heavier than the weighing limit of the scale. A feature of the invention is to provide a mechanism to cooperate with the highest order feeler to advance the type wheel of the highest order for weighing.

heavier objects.

Further details and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection withlthe drawings illustrating an example of the invention and in which:

Figure l is a front view, partly broken away, of a weighing scale with printing mechanism,

Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the printing mechanism with the casing broken away, I

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line IV--IV of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V--V of Fig 3 on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the feelers, the reinforcing bar and the locking bar in a set position on the disc,

Fig. 8 is a side view of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a side view of the locking bar in contact with the disc with the latter being shown as a partial section, and

Fig. 10 is a front view of the disc.

The weighing scale i has the usual indicating hand 2 mounted on a shaft 3, the latter being in operative connection by means of the usual mechanism to the pan or plate on which the. article to be weighed is placed. In the form of construction shown this connection comprises a pinion 33 on the shaft 3 on which the pointer 2 is mounted, and a rack 36 connected to the weighing'pan or platform of the scales. Also as usual the hand 2 cooperates with a series of Weight indicator discs or the like to visibly indicate the article weighed but such details do not form any part -oi' the present invention. The actual invention of this application resides in the printing mechanism and more particularly in the means for setting the actual printing mechanism to print the individual weight amount.

The setting mechanism for the printing device comprises a thin sheet metal disc 4 with cut-out areas or portions forming stepped stop sections 5, 6 and 1. The disc I may be stamped out in any usual manner and in the form illustrated in Fig. 10 the stepped stop sections 5 may indicate the units. the Vsection 6 the tens and the section 1 the hundreds. For instance each unit section has ten groups of ten stops, that is a stop for each, the tens section 6 has ten stops and the hundreds section 1 has five stops to a maximum of five hundred. Such a series of divisions and sub-divisions may be used for metric weight measures.

The actual printing mechanism is composed of a plurality of type wheels 8 rotatably mounted on a shaft 9 which is mounted in a casing I0 provided adjacent the scale. Each type wheel 8 has a pinion li secured thereto to rotate therewith and each pinion meshes with a rack i2, For un'its, tens and hundreds there are three type wheels of which wheel 8 has numeral types (0,

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), wheel8" has numeral types (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 8, 9) and 8"' has numeral types (0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The foregoing is merely stated as an example since any scale of numbers can be used depending upon the specific weights which are used and the type of materials for which the scale is designed.

Each yrack i 2 has a feeler or stepped barv i3 secured thereto of which feelers I3 and i3" have 9 stepped notches for the units and tens, and |3" has five stepped notches for the hundreds. These feelers i3 are adapted to slide in guide bars I4 and i4' mounted on plates I5 of the casing I0. Each feeler is provided with a pin I6 mounted thereon to whichone endof a tension spring Il is secured, the other end of the spring being secured to a bar I3 secured in the casing. Also each feeler I3 has a lug i9 secured on the under side thereof, Fig. 4, which abuts, and cooperates with a bar 20, on and secured to a setting rack 2|; the -bar 20 extending over all the feelers.

The operating device for printing a weight value includes an operating handle 22 mounted on a shaft 23 rotatably mounted in the casing i0. On the shaft 23 there is fixed a gear 31 which meshes with a` gear 39 mounted on a shaft 38. 'I'he shaft 38 is mounted in the casing lil and a cam 24 is mounted on this shaft which cam is in contact with a roller 4I mounted on one end of a double-armed lever 3i pivoted at 32. The other end of the lever 3i carries a printing plate 30. The shaft 32 around which the doublearmed lever 3| rotates is mounted in the casing il).

The gear 3l on the shaft 23 is in mesh with a gear 32 which latter is securely mounted on the shaft 43 which is also mounted inthe casing I0. On the other end of the shaft 43 there is mounted the gear whichis in mesh with a gear rack 2I.

On the shaft 23 there is mounted a cam 25 which operates an arm of a double-armed lever 45, which is rotatably mounted at 44 in the casing I0. The other arm 45" of this lever lies against a projection 46 on the underside of a rack 34, Figs. 3, 7 and 8, the stem 34 of which rack has a part 33 at right angles thereto which forms a V-shaped backing member or reinforcing bar for the disc 4, and is adapted to contact the rear face of the disc. As shown in the drawings. particularly Fig. 8, the reinforcing bar 33 is provided with a slot 41 through which can extend the feelers I3. To prevent the bending of the disc'4 by the pressure of the feelers I3 against the front face of said disc the reinforcing bar is moved into contact with the disc 4 shortly before the feelers actually contact the disc. The reinforcing bar thus takes up the pressure and force of the feelers so that the disc can be made of extremely thin metal, which has the advantage that the scales will quickly come to rest upon each weighing operation, owing to the low inertia. Apart from this the reinforcing bar makes it possible to set a feeler accurately. A locking bar 21, Figs. 3 and 7, is slidably mounted in the guide bars I4 and I4' and is adapted to contact in any one of a plurality of notches or V-shaped grooves 28 provided circumferentially around one side face of the disc 4. The locking bar 21 is also provided with a lug I9 and with a spring 29 secured at one end. to the bar 21 and the other end on the rod I8.

The actual invention of this application is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 in which the feeler I3J for the hundreds is provided with a lateral eX- tension 5D provided with a lug 5I having a lateral edge 52. The feeler I3 is not connected directly with a rack I2, but to separate rack bar I2 slidably mounted in the bars I4 and I4 and extending through the rear wall I' of the scale, said rack bar I2' having a depending end member 53. The rack bar I2' carries a lever 54 pivotally mounted at approximately the mid point on a pin 55, and this bar has three stop shoulders 56, 5B', 56 on its upper side which cooperate with the lug 5I on the feeler I3". On the underside of the lever 54 there are two stop teeth 51 which cooperate with a ratchet pawl 58 mounted on the wall I' of the scales and having a spring 59. Another spring is secured to the top of the rack bar I2' to hold the lever 54 against the lug 5I. A further coil spring 6I is secured at one end to the wall plate I and at the other end to an extension 62 on the bar I2. A Weight, 63a, is adapted to be hung on a rod 63 which hangs on one end of a bell crank lever 64, which is pivotally mounted, by means of a pin 65, on a bracket secured to the wall plate I. The other end of the lever 64 has a head 51 which contacts the depending section 53.

The device operates as follows:

It is assumed that an object or material is weighed which has a weight of 247, the actual measure of weight being immaterial for purpose of illustration. Immediately'upon placing the 247 weight object on the scales the hand 2 comes to rest to visibly indicate 247 and the disc 4 rotates with and comes to rest simultaneously with the hand. Then the operator of the scales rotates the hand crank 22 counterclockwise, Fig. 4, which results in a. rotation of the shaft 23.

Thereby the cam 25 will press on the free end 45' of the double-armed lever 45, so that this lever will be rotated counter-clockwise around its shaft 44, Fig. 4. The other free end 45" of the lever 45 will press the projection 46, on the reinforcing bar and therewith the rack 34 and said bar against the tension of a spring 34 which has one end secured on the guide bar I4' and the other end on the rack 34, to the left, Fig. 4, so that the reinforcing bar 33 will be likewise moved to the left, this taking place after the disc 4 has moved to its weight indicating position. When the cam 25 has moved the double lever 45 the full distance allowed by the throw of the cam, the reinforcing bar 33 will come to rest against the rear side of the disc 4.

Simultaneously with the rotation of the cam 25 rotation of the gear 26 will also take place due to rotation of the hand crank 22, through the gears 31, 42, whereby the rack 2| will be moved to the right, Fig. 4. Thereby the bar 20 mounted on the rack 2| will move away from the pins I9 on the underside of the feelers I3', I3", I3, and the locking bar 21, so that the feelers and the locking bar willbe released and moved toward and into the disc under the infinence of the springs I1 and 29.

The device operates in such a manner that the locking bar proceeds ahead of the feelers and nearly simultaneously with the reinforcing bar comes in contact with the disc. By means of the locking bar the disc will be arrested while the reinforcing bar prevents the bending of the thin disc. Then the feelers contact the respective stepped cut-out portions in which feeler I3"' for the hundreds contacts the 2 step, the feeler I3" for the tens contacts the 4" step and the feeler I3' contacts the 7" step, as indicated in the position of the feelers in Fig. 7 which corresponds to the position on the disc on line VII-VII of Fig. 10. During the time that the feelers are being set each rack I2 secured to a feeler will properly set the type wheels. Immediately the feelers are set the further rotation of the handle 22 will cause the cam 24 to rock the lever 3| to force a card or paper sheet or strip against the type wheels 8 to thus print the Weight 247 thereon. The parts are then returned to their initial positions by rotating the handle 22 in the clockwise direction back to the position of Fig. 1.

In the foregoing operation the rack I2 of the highest order feeler, Figs. 5 and 6, is in its extreme left hand position when no weight 33a. is on the rod 63, and with the head 51 is in the position I, Fig. 5. This is so even when a weight of 247 is on the scale, as long as the feelers are held by the bar 20, in the extreme left hand position, that is until said bar moves to the right. In this position the stop member 56' is against the lug 5I and thus the feeler I3"' will set its type wheel in the normal weight range of 0 to 4, the spring I1 being stronger than the spring 5I.

If, and according to the invention of the present application, a weight 53a is hung on the rod 53, to weigh an amount between 500 and 599, the lever will force the rack I2' to the right, Figs. 5 and 6, to the position 1I and if a heavier weight 63a, to weigh an amount between 600 to 699, is hung on rod 53 the parts will assume the position III as shown. For this purpose the type wheel of highest order, Figs. 5 and 6, is supplied with numerals from 0 to 6 instead of from 0 to 4 and by hanging a weight on the rod 53 the said type wheel is pre-set either one 2,301,946 or two steps ahead before the feelers come into lug Il to the position oi' Fig. 5. This tilting is acccomplished by the bevelled sides of the stop points l1 striking the ratchet pawl Il and riding over the same. The type wheel is now preset to numeral 2 instead oi' to 0 and when the 647 material is weighed the lug 5i of the feeler Il"l will strike the stop member 58"' which forces the lever 5I, and rack i2' to the right against the action of spring 6i to set the type wheel 8 to the numeral 6. After weighing the spring 6I pulls the elements back to the position of Fig. 5.

It is understood that the auxiliary weights 63a added must be such that one of them will stretch the spring 5| sumciently to bring the depending end member 53 of the rack bar i2' into position II, and the other to bring it into position III, whereby the stop 58, or the stop 56". respectively, will co-operate with the lug 5i of tho feeler Il'".

I claim as my invention:

l. A device for presetting a type wheel in a printing weighing machine wherein the type wheel is normally set by a movable feeler, comprising a rack` bar having type wheel actuating means and movable independently of the feeler to preset the type wheel, means on said feeler and rack bar for coupling them for drive oi said rack bar by said feeler in setting of the wheel to printing position, means for disengns the coupling whereby said pre-setting movement oi the rack bar independent of the feeler can take place. and means for imparting a predetermined independent movement to said rack bar.

2. A device for presetting a type wheel in a printing weighing machine wherein the type wheel is normally set by a movable feeler, comprising a rack bar having type wheel actuating means and movable independently oi the feeler to preset the type wheel, means on said feeler and rack bar for coupling them for drive oi' said rack bar by said feeler in setting oi the wheel to printing position, means for disengaging the coupling whereby said pre-setting movement of the rack bar independent of the i'eeler can take place. and means for imparting a predetermined independent movement to said rack bar. said means including changeable auxiliary weights correspending to desired increases in the limit weight amount to be printed.

3. A device according to claim in which the coupling means on the rack bar include a piurality or lugs spaced from each other by distances corresponding to different presettings o! the type wheel, and co-operating with a coupling-lug on the feeler. means being provided to move said rack bar lugs out of the path of the feeler lug in a presetting operation by means of said auxiliary weights.

4. A device for presetting a type wheel in aV printing weighing machine wherein the type wheel is normally set by a movable feeler, comprising a rack bar Vhaving type wheel actuating means and movable independently ci the feeler to preset the type wheel. a drive lug on said feeler. a lever pivoted on said rack bar, said lever having a plurality oi' spaced lugs co-operating with said drive lug to couple said rack bar to said feeler for drive or the former by the latter in setting the wheel to printing position, means for imparting a predetermined independent movement to said rack bar, and means for temporarily rocking said lever to bring its lug out of co-operation with the feeler lug during said independent presetting movement of the rack bar.

5. A device tor presetting a type wheel in a printing weighing machine wherein the type wheel is normally set by a movable feeler, comprising a rack bar having type wheel actuating means and movable independently oi the feeler to preset the type wheel, a drive lug on said feeler, a lever pivoted on said rack bar, said lever having a plurality of spaced lugs co-operating with said driveA lug to couple said rack bar to said feeler for drive of the former by the latter in setting the wheel to printing position, means for imparting a predetermined independent movement to said rack bar. said means including changeable auxiliary weights corresponding to desired increases in the limit weight amount to be printed. and means for temporarily rocking said lever` to bring its lugs out ot co-operation with the feeler lug during said independent presetting movement of the rack bar.

l 6. A device for presetting a type wheel in a printing weighing machine wherein the type wheel is normally set by a movable feeler, comprising a rack bar having type wheel actuating .means and movable independently of the'ieeler to preset the type wheel, spring means opposing presetting movement of the rack bar. another spring means opposing movement of the feeler, means on said feeler and rack bar for coupling them for drive of said rack bar by said-feeler in setting of the wheel to printing position, means for disengaging the coupling whereby said presetting movement oi.' the rack bar independent of the feeler can take place, and means for imparting a predetermined independent movement to said rack bar, said means including changeable auxiliary weights corresponding to desired increases in the limit weight amount to be printed.

7. A device according to claim 1 in which the 'independent pre-setting movement of the rack va bell crank lever on an arm o! which engages an extension of said rack bar.

ARTHUR HAHN. 

